Witness Recalls Early Morning Phone Call From DeeDee Moore

TAMPA | Judith Haggins told jurors Wednesday that she got an early morning telephone call from Dorice "DeeDee" Moore that left her angry and cursing.

By JASON GEARYTHE LEDGER

UPDATE:

TAMPA | The murder trial of Dorice "DeeDee" Moore could continue next week.

Originally the trial was estimated to end tomorrow, but lawyers discussed this morning that it could could take longer - perhaps stretching into Monday and Tuesday.

Circuit Court Judge Emmett Lamar Battles thanked the jurors for their patience and service. He asked the jurors to begin considering whatever arrangements might be necessary so they can participate in the trial if it continues next week.

Today's article appears below:

TAMPA | Judith Haggins told jurors Wednesday that she got an early morning telephone call from Dorice "DeeDee" Moore that left her angry and cursing.

"Abraham is dead," Haggins recalled Moore saying.

The call took place at 3:15 a.m. on Jan. 26, 2010 — just two days before investigators would exhume the bullet-riddled body of Lakeland lottery winner Abraham Shakespeare after he had been missing about nine months.

Haggins said she cursed at Moore, accusing her of tricking Shakespeare's mother and herself for months into thinking he was still alive.

"Yes, I was mad," Haggins said.

Moore is charged with first-degree murder in Shakespeare's death. If convicted as charged, she faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

She is accused of taking control of Shakespeare's ­assets and killing him.

Haggins was an employee of Shakespeare and helped collect debts from people who took loans from him.

Haggins testified Moore described Shakespeare being killed April 6, 2009, by drug dealers, including one named Ronald.

Haggins recalled Wednesday that Moore and Shakespeare were planning that night to meet her at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa, but they never arrived.

Haggins said Moore called some time after midnight to say Shakespeare got into some trouble and assaulted a woman and that was the reason they didn't go to the casino.

However, Moore gave a different account of what she said really happened during her Jan. 26, 2010, call.

Haggins testified Moore told her that drug dealers wanted her to write a check for $200,000 for some drugs. Moore said Shakespeare held a gun to her head, and she passed out.

Haggins testified Moore told her that she woke up to find Shakespeare had been shot.

Shakespeare's corpse was found Jan. 28, 2010, buried underneath a concrete slab behind a Plant City home that Moore had purchased. He had been shot twice in the chest.

Detectives relied upon a confidential informant, Greg Smith, to secretly record conversations with Moore to locate the body.

Shakespeare won a $17 million lump-sum lottery payment in 2006, and had about $14 million left after taxes. By late 2008, he had given away or loaned the majority of his winnings.

Shakespeare's dwindling fortune consisted of about $1.5 million, a Lakeland mansion worth more than $1 million, and IOUs from friends and acquaintances.

Prosecutors told jurors in last week's opening statements that Moore schemed to get control of Shakespeare's assets by making him fear that he would lose the rest of his fortune in a pending child support case.

Investigators could not find financial documentation that Moore paid Shakespeare for the assets. She told detectives that she paid Shakespeare in cash.

Moore's lawyers say their client didn't steal from Shakespeare but was helping him, and he was killed by drug dealers who threatened Moore and her teenage son.

Shakespeare was 43 when last seen alive in April 2009.

Moore's former boyfriend, Shar Krasniqi, also testified Wednesday that he wasn't around on the date Shakespeare is thought to have been killed.

Krasniqi said he went to visit a friend across the state April 6, 2009, and a gasoline receipt for the trip was shown to jurors.

Moore, who is about 11 years older than Krasniqi, worked with his mother, and they met in 2006. They became romantically involved a few months later, and were living together by January 2007.

Krasniqi said Moore paid the rent, food and utilities. He didn't have a job, but he helped manage payroll for her nurse staffing agency, American Medical Professionals, and performed remodeling tasks for the business.

"She appeared to me to be successful financially," Krasniqi said.

Krasniqi, 29, who now lives in Georgia, recalled his plans for Valentine's Day in 2009 was to unveil a tree swing for Moore and take her to lunch. She gave him a $70,000 Corvette. Investigators later told Krasniqi that the car was likely bought with Shakespeare's money so he turned it over to them.

He testified that he met Shakespeare a few times before he went missing, and Moore told him that she bought Shakespeare's assets, including his mansion on Red Hawk Bend Drive in Lakeland.

"She just simply stated he moved," Krasniqi said.

A few weeks after Shakespeare disappeared, Moore and Krasniqi began living in Shakespeare's home. Krasniqi recalled that his birthday is in May, and Moore threw a party for him at their new residence.

Prosecutors questioned Krasniqi about whether Moore was physically able to help pick up heavy furniture during the move, and he agreed that she was able to do so.

The detail could be used by prosecutors to argue that she was strong enough to move Shakespeare's body.

Testimony is expected to continue today. The possibility of the trial extending into next week is also likely to be discussed.

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